Ditch Helen Sears

Helen Sears ignores the needs of immigrant constituents in the "melting pot" of Queens: Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Rego Park, Woodside, and Corona. She's also suspiciously silent about the homophobic smear campaign being waged against one of her opponents.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

February 22, 2010 5:25 PM
By Elizabeth Benjamin
So much for that.
At 5:01 p.m. this afternoon - seven hours before the deadline for making such a decision - former Democratic Councilwoman Helen Sears filed a formal declination of the GOP line in the March 16 special election to fill Hiram Monserrate's vacant Senate seat, a city Board of Elections spokeswoman confirmed.
A Senate Republican source confirmed the ex-councilwoman called earlier today to inform the minority of her intention to decline the unanimous nod she had received from the Queens GOP last Friday.
Her decision was attributed by the Republicans in no small part to the fact that she had failed to land another line, namely that of the Independence Party.
Trying to win as a turncoat Democrat in a district that is roughly seven-to-one Democratic is hard enough. Doing so with just the GOP line is nearly impossible, even if Hiram Monserrate manages to get onto the ballot as an independent candidate.
The Senate Republicans are disappointed, but resigned. They knew Sears' candidacy was a long shot - at best.
The last day to fill a vacancy created by a declination is Feb. 24, which means the Queens GOP has just two days to find a replacement candidate.
If Monserrate doesn't manage to file a sufficient number of valid signatures, this race could be Assemblyman Jose Peralta's in a walk.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

What is perhaps New York City's last public clinic that treats adults who suffer from sickle cell anemia clinic is rumoured to be closing.

In another sign that ruthless mayoral dictator for life Michael Bloomberg doesn't give a rat's ass about New Yorkers, an anonymous tipper has submitted information to me that indicates that adults who suffer from sickle cell anemia have perhaps only one city clinic, where they can receive medical treatment. Now, that clinic is slowly unwinding its operations and is rumoured to be closing under Bloomberg's budget.

First firehouses, then the office of Public Advocate, then post offices, and now the clinics that underpin the health of our family, friends, and neighbors : Bloomberg is sick to think that it's O.K. to deny healthcare to New Yorkers, who are vulnerable to illness and disease. I hope everybody is beginning to see clearly how he shows no compassion or remorse when he does away with the important services that we all need.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Vanishing New York is a documentary-in-progress about the luxury development that is changing our city, pricing out artists, small businesses and even the middle class. The film explores why this is happening now and at such a rapid pace. It is both an indictment of current city policies and the story of how people are fighting to stop these changes. If you would like to help us finish the film, go to www.vanishingny.org to see how you can make a tax-deductible donation.

Q. Are the sexual harassment issues that are being brought against Bloomberg L.P. recent, or were they prior to his terms as mayor? If they are later than 2002 hasn’t he divested himself from any active role in the company and should it not be a relevant issue? If events occurred during his company stewardship, that is a different matter and should be brought to bear in the current campaign. Would you comment on this subject? — Posted by Ned Brody

A. A complicated subject. Mr. Bloomberg and his company faced three sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits when he was still in charge of Bloomberg L.P. One suit, by a woman who charged Mr. Bloomberg with snapping “Kill it!” when she told him she was pregnant, claimed that he and other company executives subjected women to “repeated and unwelcome” sexual comments and overtures. That suit was settled the year before Mr. Bloomberg became a mayoral candidate. He did not admit guilt, and the plaintiff accepted an undisclosed sum and agreed to remain forever silent. A second harassment suit was dropped because of legal blunders by the woman’s lawyer, and a third was withdrawn after the plaintiff’s husband, another Bloomberg employee, pleaded guilty to stealing from the company.

Ms. Troy has spent months creating, editing, and posting hundreds of original citizen journalist videos focusing on the controversial election this year of local candidates running for third terms in office. In particular, Ms. Troy's videos have been highly critical of the New York City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The nature of the videos on her YouTube.com account have ranged from breaking news-quality videos of voter demonstrations, to video blogs of her commentary on the elections, to artistic interpretation of news events. There is no reason for her account to be suspended by YouTube other than for the political and artistic nature of their content.

Please write to Youtube at: press@youtube.com and ask them for their official policy of suspending accounts of artists and citizen journalists.

We are only weeks away from an important election, which shall decide if City Council Members and Mayor Bloomberg will thwart the will of voters' two referrenda on term limits. And missing from the free exchange of ideas during the critical debates that will be taking place in the time leading up to the election will be Ms. Troy's body of work.

Without you stepping in to blog, publish, or report about this questionable suspension of Ms. Troy's YouTube account (as well as the potential of loss of hundreds of videos), other citizen journalists may face the same sad fate : cyber suppression.

Please consider the importance of voter participation in free and open democratic elections.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Video of empty and eerily silent Coronary Care Unit of St. John's Queens Hospital, after the hospital was closed earlier this year.

Where are we going to go, if we get sick ? And when the H1N1 flu strikes again this winter, it isn't going to look good, people.

Look at all the healthcare infrastructure, resources, and technology that are going to go to waste. What you don't see is all of the highly educated and trained medical staff -- what is happening to them, where are they going to work now ? So many people don't have access to healthcare, and here we are taking entire hospitals offline. OUT-rage !

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Councilwoman Helen Sears must surely have no sense of compassion or caring for the 2,000,000 people in Queens, who keep losing more and more hospitals, firehouses, and post offices.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

In case anyone has forgotten, Helen Sears was among the members of the New York City Council, who voted themselves the ability to run for a third, consecutive term in office. Their act, made possible only by unscrupulously circumventing a public referendum on the matter -- and flying in the face of two past referenda -- revealed a conflict of interest. How can a municipal council make self-interested rules favoring their own re-election, when they know the historical advantage of incumbents returning to office ?

"Speaker Christine Quinn, who brought the mayor's bill to the floor, defended the extension of term limits by saying it was increasing voter choice."

""Make no mistake," said Speaker Quinn. "I believe that our great city will get through these challenges and emerge stronger than ever before. I also believe that in challenging times like these, the voters should have the choice — the choice to continue their current leadership. They should have the right to vote for the current mayor, or a new one, for their current City Council member, or a new one. That is exactly what is at stake today."

To listen to the entire WNYC radio report, please click on the mp3 player above.

Ditch Helen Sears

Vote for Daniel Dromm on Sept. 15

No Third Term for Helen Sears

... In 2008 [Helen Sears] voted to overturn term limits-no surprise that she herself was term-limited at that point. None of the other Council members who voted for it however complained that the opposition voices against it (namely the population at large) were “intimidating” her.

"I don't think my office has ever been so threatened, I don't think my phones have ever been so tied up” (AFP, 10/23/2008). One hopes that calls to one’s Councilperson’s office in support of twice-affirmed term limits will not be interpreted as “threats,” but clearly Ms. Sears feels differently.